The International Criminal Court and the Protection of Women's Rights in Conflict and Post-Conflict Contexts: International Developments and Regional Strategies. As a country with a strong commitment to human rights and a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Australia has a leading role to play in supporting ICC efforts to end impunity for perpetrators who commit crimes against humanity. This project will strengthen Australia's position as an international advocate for the Court ....The International Criminal Court and the Protection of Women's Rights in Conflict and Post-Conflict Contexts: International Developments and Regional Strategies. As a country with a strong commitment to human rights and a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Australia has a leading role to play in supporting ICC efforts to end impunity for perpetrators who commit crimes against humanity. This project will strengthen Australia's position as an international advocate for the Court by contributing expertise on the development, application and implementation of its decisions on women's rights in conflict and post-conflict situations. The research will strengthen the work of the Court in relation to gender-justice and will have practical benefit in the region in terms of recognisng women's rights in East Timor and Cambodia.Read moreRead less
Delivering Effective Protection to Victims and Prevention of Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. The project will help safeguard Australia by improving our understanding of the nature of human trafficking in the Asia-Pacific region through victims' profiles and about what preventive measures work best. It will focus upon capacity building and co-ordination of NGO-State responses. It will contribute to Australia's continuing reputation as regional leader on these issues, by focusi ....Delivering Effective Protection to Victims and Prevention of Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. The project will help safeguard Australia by improving our understanding of the nature of human trafficking in the Asia-Pacific region through victims' profiles and about what preventive measures work best. It will focus upon capacity building and co-ordination of NGO-State responses. It will contribute to Australia's continuing reputation as regional leader on these issues, by focusing on high quality research to inform policy development and practice on aid effectiveness in the area of counter-human trafficking. This is expected to lead to significant social and economic benefits through building upon existing cooperative relationships.Read moreRead less
International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its Relevance to Australia's security. International Criminal Justice (ICJ) is a discipline of increasing importance in global and national responses to atrocity and violence, in particular war crimes and terrorism. Australia's security, as well as its standing in the international community is directly affected by the way it understands and applies ICJ. This project will benefit the Australian community by analysing and developing an understanding ....International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its Relevance to Australia's security. International Criminal Justice (ICJ) is a discipline of increasing importance in global and national responses to atrocity and violence, in particular war crimes and terrorism. Australia's security, as well as its standing in the international community is directly affected by the way it understands and applies ICJ. This project will benefit the Australian community by analysing and developing an understanding of the law and policy issues affecting how we treat war crimes and terrorism and by engaging not just with the academic and practitioner community in Australia and internationally, but with government representatives from the Attorney-General's, Foreign Affairs and Defence Departments.Read moreRead less
Australian Parliaments and the Protection of Human Rights. Those involved in human rights debates have paid too much attention to the role of courts in protecting human rights and too little attention to legislatures - the most important democratic institutions in States (Waldron 1993, 1999). This project will help to redress this imbalance by providing the first detailed analysis of the way in which human rights are taken into account at each stage of the parliamentary process at both Commonwea ....Australian Parliaments and the Protection of Human Rights. Those involved in human rights debates have paid too much attention to the role of courts in protecting human rights and too little attention to legislatures - the most important democratic institutions in States (Waldron 1993, 1999). This project will help to redress this imbalance by providing the first detailed analysis of the way in which human rights are taken into account at each stage of the parliamentary process at both Commonwealth and State levels. It will provide the basis for a more informed debate in this important area and will assess the need for reform of the current system.Read moreRead less
Building Democracy and Justice after Conflict. Weak governance is a cause of terrorism. Australia is increasingly involved in nation-building projects, both in its region and internationally. This project will build Australia's expertise in the ways that international law can promote democracy and justice after conflict. It will develop guidelines for states and organisations involved in peace and nation-building. The project will thus contribute to safeguarding Australia by increasing Austra ....Building Democracy and Justice after Conflict. Weak governance is a cause of terrorism. Australia is increasingly involved in nation-building projects, both in its region and internationally. This project will build Australia's expertise in the ways that international law can promote democracy and justice after conflict. It will develop guidelines for states and organisations involved in peace and nation-building. The project will thus contribute to safeguarding Australia by increasing Australia's capacity to engage with, and interpret itself to, its neighbours and the broader international community, as well as by tackling the threat of terrorism.Read moreRead less
Building Democracy and Justice after Conflict. Weak governance is a cause of terrorism. Australia is increasingly involved in nation-building projects, both in its region and internationally. This project will build Australia's expertise in the ways that international law can promote democracy and justice after conflict. It will develop guidelines for states and organisations involved in peace and nation-building. The project will thus contribute to safeguarding Australia by increasing Austra ....Building Democracy and Justice after Conflict. Weak governance is a cause of terrorism. Australia is increasingly involved in nation-building projects, both in its region and internationally. This project will build Australia's expertise in the ways that international law can promote democracy and justice after conflict. It will develop guidelines for states and organisations involved in peace and nation-building. The project will thus contribute to safeguarding Australia by increasing Australia's capacity to engage with, and interpret itself to, its neighbours and the broader international community, as well as by tackling the threat of terrorism.Read moreRead less
The Impact of Hate Speech Laws on Public Discourse in Australia. 2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the first Australian laws (NSW) directed at the regulation of hate speech. Although hate speech laws are now firmly embedded in Australia's legal landscape, and have been extended in some jurisdictions to vilification based on religious and sexual orientation, they remain a controversial instrument for supporting Australia's policies on multiculturalism, religious tolerance an ....The Impact of Hate Speech Laws on Public Discourse in Australia. 2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the first Australian laws (NSW) directed at the regulation of hate speech. Although hate speech laws are now firmly embedded in Australia's legal landscape, and have been extended in some jurisdictions to vilification based on religious and sexual orientation, they remain a controversial instrument for supporting Australia's policies on multiculturalism, religious tolerance and respect for difference. An examination of the effects of hate speech laws on public discourse - both intended and unintended - will offer valuable insights about the capacity of law to deliver social cohesion in 21st century Australia.Read moreRead less
The law of refugee status: a theoretical and comparative analysis. This Project will make a significant contribution to international refugee law scholarship, thus consolidating Australia's place as a centre for excellence in international refugee law. In addition, the Project will have immediate practical relevance for individual refugee status determination in all states parties to the Convention, especially Australia, in its utility for practitioners, advocates and decision-makers. It will al ....The law of refugee status: a theoretical and comparative analysis. This Project will make a significant contribution to international refugee law scholarship, thus consolidating Australia's place as a centre for excellence in international refugee law. In addition, the Project will have immediate practical relevance for individual refugee status determination in all states parties to the Convention, especially Australia, in its utility for practitioners, advocates and decision-makers. It will also provide a principled basis for future policy development in Australia and abroad. It will therefore make a significant contribution to an area of law that is vital to Australia's future and to the international community as a whole.Read moreRead less
Strengthening the Human Rights Focus of Anti-Discrimination Law and Practice. Australian anti-discrimination legislation aims to promote and protect human rights, but its impact has been limited by reliance on private, individualised complaint-handling processes, and by the limited capacity of anti-discrimination agencies to engage in broader inquiries or litigation strategies. This project will determine how to maximise awareness and protection of human rights through the discrimination complai ....Strengthening the Human Rights Focus of Anti-Discrimination Law and Practice. Australian anti-discrimination legislation aims to promote and protect human rights, but its impact has been limited by reliance on private, individualised complaint-handling processes, and by the limited capacity of anti-discrimination agencies to engage in broader inquiries or litigation strategies. This project will determine how to maximise awareness and protection of human rights through the discrimination complaint-handling process, the management of anti-discrimination litigation, and/or the use of other agency functions and powers. By incorporating both the conciliation and litigation aspects of anti-discrimination procedures, systematically examining international models, and involving one of the anti-discrimination agencies as industry partner, the project is designed to contribute significantly to the implementation of human rights in Australia.Read moreRead less
Australia's first bill of rights: Assessing the impact of the Australian Capital Territory's Human Rights Act. The ACT is about to adopt Australia's first bill of rights, the ACT Human Rights Act. This project will document and analyse the implementation of this historic law through its effect on executive and legislative policy and its interpretation by the judicial system. It will also develop a framework for assessing the regulatory impact of bills of rights generally. The project will gen ....Australia's first bill of rights: Assessing the impact of the Australian Capital Territory's Human Rights Act. The ACT is about to adopt Australia's first bill of rights, the ACT Human Rights Act. This project will document and analyse the implementation of this historic law through its effect on executive and legislative policy and its interpretation by the judicial system. It will also develop a framework for assessing the regulatory impact of bills of rights generally. The project will generate monitoring information for the Industry Partner, publicly accessible information for researchers and policy makers and contribute to the scholarly debate about the significance of bills of rights.Read moreRead less